The Story of Silverstar
by Reevee21
Summary: When a young kit with silver-blue fur is born to Stormclan, she was often overlooked. But soon, every cat in the forest would know of her as Silverstar of Stormclan... rated T because of cat fights and, uh, MILD bleeding.
1. Introduction

The Story of Silverstar

How she rose to fame.  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Warriors, Erin Hunter does.

Introduction

The dying leader twitched feebly on the grass. He could feel his strength leaving him, after all his years of service. But he was ready for Starclan, as his last life held on to him just long enough for him to say, "take care of the clan, Blackstrike. I go to hunt in Starclan now."  
His faithful deputy had a mixture of sadness and horror as his leader lost his last life.  
"Ringstar…" he whispered. Blackstrike pressed his muzzle into his deceased leader's fur for a brief moment, and then continued fighting.  
Now that his leader had been killed by Moonclan, he felt even more raged. He slashed and dodged Redstar's oncoming blows until he was a black strike.  
"Retreat!" Redstar commanded. All at once, Stormclan drove the enemy clan back to the mountains, Moonclan ran like all of Lionclan was after them, and the forest was Stormclan's once more.

"He was a great leader," Slashclaw comforted.  
His mate by his side, Blackstrike helped carry Ringstar's body back to the camp. The she-cat was all white except for one night-black paw and her soft, black tail.  
"Yes," Blackstrike said, "he will not be forgotten easily. By Redstar or anyone."  
Feathertail had finished with another warrior's wounds and was heading over to clean the body. Ringstar was an almond brown cat with white tabby markings. He was a very muscular cat, but a quick thinker, too. He looked at peace in the clearing, laying there. The warriors of Stormclan sat around him in a wide circle.  
Slanttail was right next to him. He was Ringstar's son, of course. Lightningpaw, Orchidpaw, and Pinepaw were pressed against each other. No one knew where the three sister kits had come from; they were found by Feathertail in the woods. Frozentail was right next to Mistheart. The two new mates were never seen without the other.  
_I'm the leader of these cats now,_ Blackstrike thought,_ and I hope I do it well. Ringstar would've wanted it that way._

"I hail you by your new name: Blackstar of Stormclan!" Ringstar announced.  
The new leader stood in the center of a field of Starclan cats. The nine cats who had given him his lives stood at the front. Blackstar was beaming, feeling like he was going to overflow with life as the cats called his new name.  
"I will lead the clan well, Ringstar," he promised.  
The old leader simply nodded. As he was waking up from the dream, Feathertail waited. This was the first time she had ever taken a leader to Moonpool; was she doing it right? A small noise was heard in one of the bushes.  
"Who goes there?" she asked. Out of the bushes stepped a Starclan cat. It was a fairly young cat, with mint green fur and white tips. Her eyes shown with many years of experience.  
Feathertail recognized her instantly.  
"S-snakebite?" she whispered.  
The cat's tail curled in amusement. "Yes, it is me, Feathertail," Snakebite answered.  
She didn't know the protocol for Starclan visits outside of dreams. Was she supposed to show respect? Greet it like a real warrior? Feathertail did none of this. She simply strode to her dead littermate and pressed her head on his shoulder.  
"Now listen carefully, Feathertail," Snakebite murmured, "another test is coming to Stormclan, one even greater than your last battle…"


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The sun was in Silverkit's eyes as she blinked them wearily to look at her nursery home.  
The light shone from the bright green leaves covering the den, making it a soft emerald glow. The older queens slept in a branch a bit above the nursery floor, which was padded with moss everywhere. The protective shrubs that surrounded the nursery extended into the roof, making a barrier thick enough to keep out the sharpest of hawks.  
Nightkit and Sparkkit were wrestling in the moss, while Bluekit, Juniperkit, Goldkit and Bronzekit watched. The first two were older by a moon to the others, Silverkit's littermates.  
She yawned, and walked over to see what the fuss was about.  
"Oh, the two got into a fight again," Bluekit explained.  
"I don't really like to see them fighting," Bronzekit complained. The rusty brown tom was a bit shy, being the runt of the litter.  
"I want to see Feathertail!" Juniperkit mewled.  
"Are you sick?" Bluekit asked.  
"No," Juniperkit said, "I just like to see her work! Like the way she bound those herbs together, and that they can make you better, and-"  
"yes, juniper," Goldkit teased, "We've all heard of the placement of leaves."  
"They are not leaves!" she protested, "They are medicine! And very important medicine, at that!"  
"Well, perhaps you could be a medicine cat!" Mistheart encouraged. Their mother had somehow snuck up on her kits. She gave Bluekit a shriek.  
Juniperkit's eyes widened. "You really think so?" she stumbled.  
"Take over the clan while you're at it," Nightkit joked, "I'll be leader, Silverkit can be deputy, and everyone else could be warriors!"  
"Okay," Sparkkit agreed, "but what will we call it?"  
the kits thought for a moment.  
"Brambleclan!" Bluekit announced, "We'll call it Brambleclan!"  
"As Nightstar," Nightkit announced formally, "I hereby name this clan Brambleclan!"  
Silverkit bounded to his side. "And what shall be our first order of business, Nightstar?" she asked.  
"Yes, um, Blue-uh-Bluepelt!" he said, addressing Bluekit, "go out on patrol with, uh, Bronzeclaw and, err, Goldheart!"  
"of course, Nightstar!" Blue 'pelt' answered, marching around the nursery with Goldkit and Bronzekit.  
As Nightkit issued orders for the new Brambleclan, Frozentail strolled in.  
"Intruders on our territory!" Bluekit shrieked.  
"Attack, Brambleclan!" Silverkit shrieked, leaping onto her father. The other kits followed.  
"Oh no!" Frozentail said, "I have been taken over by the mighty Brambleclan!" he then rolled onto his back.  
"Must the mighty Frozentail need backup from his fellow warriors?" Mistheart asked.  
Frozentail answered, "It is too late for me!"  
Mistheart scuffed Bluekit and said, "Give him a break, kits."  
"But we were winning!" Bluekit complained.

"Can I go to Feathertail's now?" Juniperkit asked.  
"Be back by sunset," Mistheart answered.  
The dark green, orange tipped kit skipped across the entrance to the Medicine cat's den. It was a cave made of smooth granite that tripped you on the way in. the walls were lined with holes filled with one herb or another. Ivy covered the top of the den's only light, a large hole big enough for a warrior to rest in.  
it was like heaven to Juniperkit.  
Feathertail herself was organizing a certain batch of herds.  
"May I help you?" Juniperkit asked.  
Feathertail didn't notice the little kit at first, and almost dropped the chervil she was working with.  
"I suppose," she said, "just don't eat anything. I lost some deathberries in here the other day-"  
"what are deathberries?" Juniperkit interrupted.  
"Bright red berries," Feathertail answered, "with dark green leaves. They can kill you if you eat them."  
The kit's eyes brightened. She scurried to the other side of the den and rolled out a clump of the deadly berries. "h-how did you find them?" Feathertail trembled, shoving the red berries into a hidden crevice.  
"I saw them when I was coming in," Juniperkit chirped. She was helping out the medicine cat already!  
Feathertail was in awe of how this little kit who had just come in find the deathberries before she, an experienced medicine cat who knew every mouse-length of this place, couldn't find them for days!  
"Where do they go? Do you ever use them?" Juniperkit asked.  
"Only in times of dire need," she answered.  
"I though medicine cats could fix everything?" the kit asked, looking downtrodden.  
Feathertail smiled warmly and said, "no one can ever fix everything. No one can fix the sky to no longer be blue, right?"  
Juniperkit nodded her head 'no'.  
"Or fix the moon so it never shines?"  
the kit answered no again.  
"You see," she continued, "my job is to _try_ to fix the cat. If I fail, then I'll know more for next time!"

"c'mon, it'll be fun!" Nightkit pleaded.  
"You know that we'll get in trouble!" Silverkit argued.  
"It's only for a little bit!" Nightkit said. Some of the kits were going to sneak out and look in the woods that night. But Silverkit was keeping her word and not going. Bronzekit, Sparkkit, and Nightkit were going, while Bluekit, Goldkit, and Juniperkit (who was asleep, anyway) were staying.  
"Not even to the river?" Sparkkit bargained.  
"No, you know that, now leave us alone!" Bluekit hissed.  
"And don't come crying to us if you get caught!" Goldkit added.  
"Suit yourselves," Bronzekit shrugged. But deep down, in her instinct, Silverkit could sense the slightest hint of fear.  
The adventurous kits then strode through the entrance like the woods were nothing but a bad dream.  
Goldkit puffed out is chest and said, "We'll show them. Let's have our own excursion!"  
"Of what?" Silverkit asked.  
"How about," Bluekit looked around to see if anyone was listening, "the _warrior's tree _?"  
everyone in Stormclan knew the displeasure of sleep-deprived warriors.  
"Let's do it," Silverkit whispered.  
Allow me to stop for a moment to explain the camp a bit. It was in a near square sandy hollow at mercy to the weather, with the nursery at the bottom left corner. Across the nursery, in the upper-left corner, was the cave that was the medicine cat's den. In between these two was the entrance to the camp, a slight stone arch. The center of the clearing was nice and flat, and large enough for all the warriors to sit. The leader's den was along the top wall, in between the warrior's and medicine cat's dens. A small pool was at the bottom of the camp, fed by a river and drained through a small series of holes. At the bottom right corner was the elder's den, a stone bowl-shape with sand in the center and leaves over the top. Next to it, along the right side, was the apprentice's den. It was a cave much like the medicine cats, but it had shelves large enough for an apprentice to lay comfortably. And, in the upper right corner, was their target: the warrior tree.  
The kits looked at the tree.  
It was an oak, with a branch floor supported inside the tree coated in moss. It was about as tall as a twoleg, and whatever cat didn't fit in the branch beds slept amongst the roots.  
"Wow," Goldkit awed at the sight. They had never seen the warriors IN the tree before.  
"Bluekit," Silverkit said, "I dare you to snatch an acorn off of that."  
"Deal," Bluekit agreed.  
She stepped in between the sleeping cats, reached up, and leaped onto the lowest branch. The other two held their breaths as the daring she-cat stretched up,  
looked at the biggest acorn in reach,  
and batted it off the tree.  
Her prize in maw, she marched back triumphantly.  
"That would have to be the bravest thing I ever saw," Goldkit praised.  
Bluekit said nothing, just held the acorn in her jaws with a look of pride on her face.

In the woods, Sparkkit, Nightkit and Bronzekit were looking into the river.  
"I never knew there were so many fish!" Nightkit gasped.  
The river was about three cat-lengths long, with sandy banks and clear waters. It flowed from a waterfall that came down the mountain and into the Moonpool. None of the kits could see the heavenly pool from their distance, but they did see many fish. Little minnows darted from their paws, teasing the cats. The newleaf winds carried the scent of Moonclan from the mountain and Fieldclan from the field across the water. The quarter-moon was reflected in the smooth water and the stars shone proudly.  
Suddenly, a stomping could be heard. The three kits looked up from their reflection to the bush where the noise had been heard. it came closer, and closer,  
"what is it?" Bronzekit shivered.  
And finally, out of the brush came a huge, lumbering creature. Its long, black claws glistened in the moonlight, its sleek white coat interrupted by a thick black stripe, and its snout had a slash from a battle with another cat.  
"is t-that a b-badger?" Nightkit shrieked. All the kits had heard the tale of when Slashclaw had almost died fighting a badger.  
"I gave it a good, long scar on its ugly snout," the queen would brag.  
Picking up the scent of cat, the beast charged.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Silverkit's sleep was disturbed again by the sound of screeching and battle. the moon was starting to slip toward the horizon, meaning the night was only half over.  
"What's going on?" Juniperkit squeaked.  
Mistheart was guarding the nursery fiercely from something and looked over to answer, "A badger has attacked!"  
outside the nursery, the badger was up to its neck in warriors, all screeching and scratching the beast at once. The leader of Stormclan, Blackstar, was fastened securely in the beast's thick fur, yanking out clumps and clumps of the stuff. The badger, deciding that it had had enough, scurried off into the woods.  
But, once it lifted its paw to turn, it exposed a limp, rusty-red body.  
"Bronzekit," Frozentail whispered at the sight of his dead son.  
Sparkkit and Nightkit were shaking by the bushes, terrified at seeing their best friend killed in front of their eyes.  
"What happened," Nightstar demanded.  
Nightkit then relayed the tail to their father: "w-we wanted to go out and l-look at the forest, so we snuck out. B-Bluekit, Silverkit and Goldkit stayed back because they thought w-w-we would get caught. So we were looking in the water when the b-badger showed up, and it slashed b-b-Bronzekit on his face, like this-"Nightkit waved a paw in front of Sparkkit in a slashing motion, and then continued in a shaky voice, "-so he was laying on the ground and not waking up, and then it came after us, and then-"  
"I've heard quite enough," Nightstar huffed. "Get back to the nursery."

Bronzekit's body was laid down in the middle of the clearing. His shiny red fur glistened with morning dew and smelled like grass and water and wild thoughts.  
The journeys he'd never make, the adventures he's never have, the love he'll never feel again.  
All this circled through Silverkit's head as she pressed her nose to her brother's pelt.  
Bluekit looked half-asleep already, Juniperkit was cleaning his bloody face, and Goldkit was deep in thought.  
"I miss him already," Bluekit sniffed.  
"Be careful, you'll get snot all over his nice, clean fur," Juniperkit warned.  
Silverkit blinked away tears and looked at her other siblings.  
_Are you watching us, Bronzekit?_ She thought, _up in Starclan? Catch a mouse for me.  
_"Bronzekit may have never lived to be a warrior," Blackstar announced, "but we will miss him dearly. May Starclan accept his soul."  
"Goodbye, Bronzeclaw," Silverkit murmured, raising her head and walking to the nursery, "Bronzeclaw of Brambleclan."

The rest of the day went on quietly for Silverkit. The birds weren't even singing, like they too felt her loss.  
Nightkit and Sparkkit stood at the far back of the nursery, too afraid to confront the grieving family.  
"What if she scratches your eyes out?" Sparkkit asked as Nightkit finally worked up the courage to talk to her.  
"Then I'll leave and be blind," he said nobly. The black kit walked over to the silver-blue one and spoke up.  
"I'm sorry about Bronzekit," he apologized, "we shouldn't have gone out."  
"It's OK," Silverkit answered, "it wasn't your fault. Maybe he wasn't meant to live longer?"  
"I don't know," Nightkit said, "but he'd be a great warrior, don't you think?"  
"Yea," Silverkit said, sitting up, "maybe Bronzepelt, or Bronzeheart, or even Bronzestar!"  
the kits giggled at the thought of timid little Bronzekit becoming a leader.  
Silverkit looked over at Nightkit and said, "You really know how to get a girl out of a funk, you know that?"

"-and your mentor will be Slanttail!" Blackstar announced to Nightpaw. a week had past since Bronzekit's death, and Spark and Night were becoming apprentices. The new apprentice touched noses with his mentor.  
"Nightpaw! Sparkpaw!" the clan cheered.  
Silverkit was right up front, listening to the apprentice ceremony. Now that she, Goldkit, Juniperkit, and Bluekit were the only ones in the nursery, it might be a bit lonely. But she knew that in a moon, she'd be up there, receiving her own apprentice name.  
"I suppose that makes me Silverstar of Brambleclan?" she asked Nightpaw after the excitement died down.  
"Yes, I guess it does," he answered.  
Pineneedle was drinking by the pool when she heard this. The she-cat had recently been made a warrior. She had white, silky fur as fresh as snow, and a dark green tail that looked like a prickly pine branch when her fur stuck up. "What's Brambleclan?" she asked.  
"It's our pretend clan in the nursery!" Bluekit whispered.  
"Sounds fun!" Pineneedle complemented. The warrior walked over to her littermates, Lightningtail and Orchidear. "Nightpaw!" Slanttail called by the entrance, "it's time for your first training session!"  
"Coming, Slanttail!" the black apprentice called back. He gave a parting wave to Silverkit and ran to his mentor. Sparkpaw was nowhere to be seen with his mentor, Nightstar himself. Sparkpaw was looked at as the better of the two kits, even though Nightpaw was braver. Silverkit didn't know why. She had heard Feathertail and Nightstar talking in hushed voices in the leader's den, but the medicine cat could very well be reporting on herb shortage, or anything like that.  
She rolled onto her back to bask in the noon sun. Was it because he was stronger? No, the two were evenly matched in a fight. Nightpaw never even noticed if Sparkpaw was being drooled over by his parents, even if it was a bit over excessive. And just to herself, she thought she saw him was snickering at the attention.

The rest of that long, boring moon was spent counting the days to apprenticeship.  
Well, for most of them.  
Juniperkit was learning a bit more about medicine cats every day. She knew if you ate too many poppy seeds you'd get super sleepy, and that wrapping something in cobwebs slows down the bleeding. On one particular boring day, when the Greenleaf sun was showing no mercy to the already hot cats, Juniperkit asked a question she had heard last night: "Feathertail, do you really see Starclan cats?"  
the medicine cat's tail was dripping with water to keep her cool, but it still stood bushed out. It was cool like that.  
"Yes," the medicine cat answered, "and sometimes they come to me in dreams. One time, I saw my old littermate." Feathertail was a pink Persian cat, by the way, with a dark pink tail and paws. Her fur was a bit short for a cat with a lot of fluff, for she had to groom it every day in an effort to keep it that way. She was looking off into space, lost in thought, when Juniperkit spoke up again.  
"When I become an apprentice," she said, "I want to be a medicine cat, like you, Feathertail."

"It's about time we start talking about apprentices," Nightstar announced.  
He had gathered Pineneedle, Lightningtail, Orchidear and Feathertail for a meeting in his den. Lightningtail was an orange cat with yellow tips and a crooked, yellow tail. She was the most humorous of the three, and most likely the oldest. Orchidear was a pink calico with a white belly and her left back leg was dark pink. She was a very shy cat, not unlike Bronzekit. And Pineneedle was the friendliest, willing to accept change.  
"There are four kits to be announced as apprentices, but I don't know who will get the last-"  
"I'll take Juniperkit," Feathertail cut in.  
"her?" he said.  
The medicine cat nodded. "She's always been into herbs," she said, "and I need an apprentice to train." Nightstar nodded. "That would be fine with me," he said. He turned to the three warriors. "Pineneedle," he asked, "will you take Silverkit?"  
"Of course," the young warrior said, "it would be my first apprentice." "Good,"  
he said. Turning to Lightningtail, he asked her to apprentice Bluekit.  
"It would be my honor!" she said. The cat's humor would probably rub off on the young apprentice.  
And finally, he spoke to Orchidear: "will you take Goldkit, Orchidear?"  
the calico nodded vigorously, "of course, Nightstar."

"Silverkit," Nightstar called. It was night now, and the kits were just having their apprentice ceremony. "Now that you have learned the way of this clan as a kit, are you ready to become a full apprentice of Stormclan?" he continued.  
"Yes," the new apprentice answered.  
"Silverkit, you shall now be known as Silverpaw, and your mentor will be Pineneedle." He repeated this process with Goldpaw and Bluepaw. Last came Juniperkit.  
"Juniperkit, are you ready to become a medicine cat apprentice?" Nightstar asked the dark green cat with orange tips. She nodded.  
"Juniperkit, you shall now be known as Juniperpaw, and your mentor will be Feathertail."  
The apprentice touched noses with the medicine cat. As the clan cheered their new names, Silverpaw felt like the wait was over.

**Me: ah, and the wait is over! It's time for her story to fully unravel!  
Bronzekit: I thought it was unraveling now!  
Me: we've just barely skimmed the surface, young bronze. Your death is a major part of this!  
Bronzekit: what happens next?  
Me: why would I tell you?  
Bronzekit: because I'm dead and can't tell them anyway.  
Me: it'll spoil it for the readers.  
Bronzekit: oh.  
Me: sorry for that pink cat style, but we actually play this out in Legos. The description of Orchidear is accurate, her back left leg is dark pink.  
Ringstar: oh! Oh! What's the design? I want to make a clan!  
Me: it's in the picture. Wait, you have Legos?!  
Ringstar: I know people. **


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Pineneedle stood on the banks of the river.  
It had been a moon since she received her apprentice, Silverpaw.  
The silver-blue 'paw was learning to fish today, since it was Greenleaf.  
"That's it, but cup your paw," the mentor corrected, "like this."  
She dipped her paw into the water, felt a fish slide into her grasp, and flicked it out. The fish was about two mouse-lengths long, enough for two cats to share.  
_Probably Breezepelt and Orchidear_, she thought. The two cats were growing fond of each other recently.  
She watched with interest as Silverpaw copied her, dipping in a front paw, waiting a bit, and then flicking out the fish. It slapped her muzzle with a tailfin on the way up, however.  
Pineneedle couldn't help but chuckle.  
"It's not very funny," her apprentice complained, rubbing her snout.  
"You have to admit it is a bit funny," Pineneedle said.  
Silverpaw looked at her mentor and smiled, "I suppose it is a bit funny."

The training tree was a very large tree, with canopies like the warrior tree. It was surrounded by small boulders, making it near impossible to knock down in any way. The leaves rustled in the Greenleaf wind and two cats stood against each other. "And," Lightningtail announced, "go!"  
the two apprentices charged at each other.  
The left one, Goldpaw, tried for an upper slash (with sheathed claws, of course!) on his partner, Nightpaw. The black apprentice dodged and hit him with a blow to the face.  
Silverpaw was too busy with her own play-fight against Sparkpaw. He tried getting under her to fake-claw, but Silverpaw leaped and landed on his back, instead. She pawed to show she was clawing.  
"Very good!" Pineneedle praised.  
"Can you get off me now?" Sparkpaw grumbled.  
"OK," she said, dismounting him.  
Suddenly, Juniperpaw came running. "Feathertail wants you guys!" she said.

"You all know," Feathertail said, "that the warrior code says that all apprentices must visit the Moonpool at least once before becoming a warrior. Now, I need to visit the Moonpool tomorrow, and I was wondering if you apprentices would join me, if that is alright with your mentors."  
"Fine by me," Lightningtail agreed for the others.  
"Good," Feathertail said, "we leave tomorrow at dawn. Get some sleep for then!"  
the cats left the den.  
"What do you think it looks like?" Nightpaw asked.  
"It's probably a pool," Bluepaw answered hotly, "that looks like the moon."  
"Silverpaw!" the deputy, Breezepelt, called, "you're on a patrol with Slanttail and Orchidear!"  
"Coming!" she called. Silverpaw ran over to join the patrol. It set off, following the border.  
The first stop was the twoleg path, a dirt pathway that lead to the bridge across the river. It seemed pointless to build it there, with only one or two twolegs coming by every now and then. The territory cornered at the mountain, with the giant waterfall crashing down. It then lined Moonclan's territory.  
_How is a cat able to live there, _Silverpaw thought, _with hardly any undergrowth to hide under? _The forest was slightly scattered here, with a few trees on the enemy side and the plants cautiously spread. It cornered again at the twolegplace, where Twolegclan lived.  
They were city cats, or even fake kittypets that snagged food from twoleg porch steps and giant metal bins. But they were good-natured cats, and no one had ever bothered them, with so little prey to eat wild. It stretched back over the twoleg path from earlier in the woods, and ended at the start of the Rockplace.  
The Rockplace was a sea of rock hills the twolegs would dump. There was a small twoleg den in one corner, and rocks of every kind. Big ones, little ones, red ones, even, all sorted out in giant piles. It was the only thing in between their territory and the Moonpool. A tall metal fence was in between the forest and the Rockplace, which needed to be spanned by the travelers to the Moonpool. There was a bit of woods in between the Rockplace and the river, which was right next to the camp itself.  
Sometimes there would be a large amount of rain, and the river would leak into the camp. Silverpaw had never seen this happen.  
And finally, they were back at the camp.  
"Get some food and some sleep," Breezepelt advised. So she took a bird and went to the apprentice den without another word.

"Get up, Mouse brain," Bluepaw urged.  
It was dawn, and Silverpaw still wasn't up yet!  
Nightpaw came back with the water-filled moss, like she requested.  
"Wa u wat wit is?" he asked over the moss.  
"Like this, see, we're going to-"she whispered into his ear.  
The other apprentices watched eagerly. Nightpaw snickered, and threw it onto Silverpaw's head. The sleeping apprentice leaped up to the high shelves as the other apprentices' _mroowed _with laughter.

Feathertail stood on the other side of the Rockplace fence as the apprentices scrambled down her side.  
"Why do twolegs put up things like this?" Sparkpaw moaned.  
"Because they're weird, that's why," Feathertail answered. The seven cats strode through Rockplace in the morning air. "Look," Bluepaw said, "this one's shaped like a bird!" she pointed at a peculiar rock.  
"This one's shaped like a claw!" Sparkpaw added, gesturing to another.  
"And this one's shaped like my fur earlier this morning!" Silverpaw said, pointing to a cracked bowl-shaped rock.  
"It does not," Nightpaw corrected, "because yours was much flatter."  
Silverpaw rolled her eyes.  
"Be quiet, or you'll attract twolegs!" Feathertail hissed.  
They passed by lots more rock piles.  
Finally, an empty field stood between them and the Moonstone. The grass was as tall as one's tail stretched to the very tip, and had many crickets and other insects. A few gigantic, white-black things with hard feet and horns were standing around. "What are those?" Goldpaw asked.  
"Those are cows," Feathertail answered, "they won't bother you, but watch out for those feet."  
The cats kept going, following the river now. It passed through the field and kept going, even under a thunderpath. The sound was terribly loud and the smell even worse. Finally, after passing through another field, a large dip in the ground held the Moonpool.  
The dip had rocky edges perfect for cat paws to fit into, giving the travelers and advantage. The Moonpool itself was about five cat-lengths long, fed by a gentle waterfall from the river. And imbedded in the center was the most beautiful stone they had ever seen.  
It was shaped in a triangle and shone faintly.  
Sunset had begun, the stars peeping out.  
"What now?" Goldpaw asked.  
Feathertail had curled up, her fluffy tail wrapped around her. "We wait until the rock glows," she answered.  
And so they did.

Finally, as the moon arched overhead, the rock lit up like the moon itself. It bathed the hole in light and startled the apprentices who were nearly asleep.  
"It's so beautiful," Bluepaw whispered, like talking would bring it to an end.  
Feathertail touched her nose to the waters and fell into a trance.  
"Uh, what do we do?" Nightpaw asked.  
"Fall asleep, I guess," Sparkpaw yawned.  
Before you could say 'mouse-tail', all the cats were asleep.

Something was poking Silverpaw's side.  
She peeked to see who-  
and her eyes flung open at the sight.  
She was in a forest, but the trees glowed with starlight and the leaves like the night sky. It smelled of newleaf and prey and all good things, and the ground felt soft and loose under her paws.  
She sat up and looked a peculiar cat right in the face.  
He was almond brown, with white rings on his tail. His fur was dotted with stars and his eyes glowed like frost.  
"Greetings, young one," he purred warmly.  
"Is this Starclan?" she asked.  
The cat's tail curled and he answered, "Yes, this is Starclan."  
"A-am I dead?" she stumbled. The cat shook his head.  
Silverpaw sighed with relief.  
"Where are the others?" she asked.  
"They are off on their own little adventures," the ghostly cat answered.  
And as he said this, she saw something that made her heart race: there was Bronzekit, racing around with Nightpaw!  
"So Bronzekit did make it to Starclan," she sighed again  
. All this sighing was making her dizzy.  
She laid back down on the earth (or was it sky?) and the Starclan cat did as well.  
"Who are you, anyway?" she asked.  
The cat licked her silver-blue pelt and answered, "I am Ringstar, the past leader of Stormclan."

"Don't make me use the moss again!" Bluepaw warned.  
Silverpaw shot up.  
"I just discovered a new way of threat," Bluepaw giggled.  
"Oh Bluepaw," she said, "It was lovely! I was in Starclan, and there was a cat named Ringstar there, and it was so beautiful…"  
Bluepaw grinned. "I saw you two, sleeping on the ground like a pair of littermates! I met one named Snakebite."  
"And I saw Bronzekit!" Nightpaw cheered.  
The dawn was creeping up on the cats now while they said their stories of Starclan.  
Feathertail was lost in thought.  
_I knew Nightstar was wrong, but he's so stubborn about it, _she thought, _but if he does pick Sparkpaw… _

**Me: ooh! Cliffy!  
Bronzekit: who's cliffy?  
Me: it's short for cliffhanger, mouse brain.  
Bronzekit: if you had made me die later on…  
Me: I know, and one of my readers were sad about that. But it had to be done.  
Bronzekit: oh right, for the-  
Me: MOVING ON TO PREVENT SPOILERS! I have had over 100 viewers!  
Ringstar: (spit take) WHAT?!  
Me: that's right, now ****I ****know people! BTW, the next chapter is going to be published faster than normal because it's already half-written.  
Ringstar: it's because you forgot this one at first, isn't it?  
Me: if you weren't dead already….**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The shadow leapt across the border.  
It was followed by another shadow, and another, and yet another.  
The first shadow scanned the territory ahead. It was quite rocky, with a few clumps of grass in the patches of dirt. The mountain towered above their heads, the waterfall's roaring drowning in the distance.  
"It looks safe, Blackstar," the cat whispered. It was a deep blue cat with bright blue eyes and long, shaggy fur.  
"Good, Breezepelt," Blackstar answered.  
Moonclan had challenged Stormclan again at the stone fields, where they were now.  
This was the death place of Ringstar.  
Blackstar surveyed his battle patrol. Everyone but Juniperpaw, Bluepaw, Frozentail, and Slashclaw had come.  
"Remember your training," Pineneedle asked her apprentice.  
Goldpaw was hunkered down next to her and his own mentor, Orchidear.  
"We'll be fine," he said. The cats waited until there were other shadows across the battle grounds, eyes peeking out, just the faintest of conversation.  
"Stormclan," Blackstar ordered, "attack!"  
"Moonclan, attack!" Redstar ordered.  
The once calm field of stone had turned into a war zone, each cat matched by another. Silverpaw had taken on a yellow she-cat apprentice around her age, with orange markings and eyes that were as sharp as a bird's. This was Hawkpaw, from a border patrol.  
She slashed her side, she slashed back. Silverpaw tried leaping onto the she-cat, but ended up slamming into the rocky ground. She spat out blood and continued scratching.  
The moonclan cat got in a good scrape to her leg as she rolled to dodge the blows. Silverpaw learned this tactic and slashed the opposite way, hitting her even during the dodges.  
Hawkpaw slammed her down, causing more blood to come coughing up. Her pelt was stained with blood, her enemy's and her own, from hitting the ground too hard.  
Goldpaw had defeated his enemy, a red apprentice, and had ran over to help. But Silverpaw's scent was mixed too much with blood and Moonclan's, and he turned on her instead.  
Terrified, the she-cat ran from her brother, all the while dodging other attacks. Hawkpaw had followed Goldpaw, yelling something about her being his sister.  
Silverpaw ran up the mountain, on one of the ledges right next to the waterfall. She slipped on the wet rock and hung on with her paws to the edge, the cascading liquid pounding her down. It washed away the blood, leaving a very wet, fearful Silverpaw clinging to the stone.  
"Silverpaw?!" Goldpaw gasped.  
He tried to pull her up. When she was partway back on her feet, he slid and hit his scull on the rock. He lost consciousness and fell down the waterfall.  
"GOLDPAW!" Silverpaw shrieked as she saw his limp form fall to the bottom.

There was a small cavern behind the waterfall, she discovered.  
Mist curled around the place and her legs like a white ghost, almost concealing the gold-furred mound in the cave.  
Goldpaw looked awful. His wounds were still bleeding, but slower, with no real force behind it. His jaw had been rearranged by the fall to be crooked, and his claws were still unsheathed from the fight.  
She pulled his body out of the cave over to the river. There were no other cats around to help, so she pulled him over to the camp. By then her own wounds were aching and she was ready to collapse, but she kept going.  
When she reached the entrance, Frozentail helped. The entire camp was back by then, and Pineneedle was sick with worry if she had been killed.  
Orchidear was paralyzed in horror as she saw her dead apprentice laid down.  
"c'mon, Silverpaw, you're bleeding all over," Juniperpaw ushered her sister to the medicine cat's den.

"May Starclan accept his soul," Blackstar asked.  
It was almost dawn, and the clan had gathered to share tongs with Goldpaw. The deceased apprentice was still a bit gruesome to look at, but the medicine cats had tried. His golden pelt was dull and lifeless as they carried the body out to bury.  
Mistheart was still crying.  
"We don't have any sons now," she sobbed.  
"We still have Bluepaw," Frozentail comforted, "and Juniperpaw, and Silverpaw."  
"But it won't be the same," she wailed. She was right.  
This time, it was her fault that he had died. If she wasn't so covered in blood, if she had jumped out of the way when he went after her, if she was the one who fell off the waterfall.  
Juniperpaw was still fixing her wounds.  
"What happened?" she asked her patient.  
"I-it was my falt," she muttered, "if I had smelled like me, he wouldn't have gone after me, or fallen off the waterfall, and-" "oh for crying out loud," the medicine-cat-in-training groaned, "you won't feel any better by beating yourself up about it!"  
Silverpaw looked startled. Normally, Juniperpaw was a naïve sort of cat, not willing to speak up better than a wet piece of fresh-kill.  
She continued, "If he had really loved you like the brother we know, he would have been the same if you had fallen off that cliff. I saw the whole thing from down here."  
"You won't tell?" she made her promise.  
"Not to another soul," she answered.  
Silverpaw, feeling a bit better physically and emotionally, walked over to the apprentice den. Sparkpaw was telling how he beat a warrior: "and I got under his feet and slashed like crazy!"  
Bluepaw looked in horror. The blue apprentice spoke up, "did you try to KILL him?!"  
Sparkpaw glared. His red pelt, tipped with the faintest orange, was covered in scratches from the fight.  
"Of course not," he huffed, "everyone knows that's against the code. I just gave him a very MUDIOCRE WOUND, that's all."

The next day was the second of leaf-fall. Most of it was spent recovering from last night: the worst injuries kept cats from getting out of their nests.  
Silverpaw was sleeping in late again, but Bluepaw decided to let her have her peace, "until noon. Then we can use the moss, "she whispered.  
"MOSS?!" Silverpaw flung out of her nest, "WHERE?! WHERE?! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING THIS TIME!"

"I'm sure he is!" Blackstar insisted.  
"Starclan warned me of him," Feathertail said.  
The two were arguing in the leader's den again.  
"What makes you so sure that he is?" Feathertail pestered.  
"He-he just is!" Blackstar answered.  
"Don't pick favorites, Blackstar! You know perfectly well its Nightpaw!"  
"It is Sparkpaw, I feel it in my claws!"  
"Have you seen how he fights? That cat is a disaster in the making! If he becomes leader-"  
"you know perfectly well that I still have eight good lives left, and Breezepelt is the healthiest cat in the clan!"  
"Good things can change in an instant, Blackstar. Remember snakebite? Huh? How she died after an adder, a snake not even widely encountered, bit her heart? Ringstar had to have her warrior ceremony mere seconds before she passed!" Feathertail was in tears now, "and if you don't pick Nightpaw, this clan will head to ruin!"  
the medicine cat stormed out of the den, running into Juniperpaw at the storage.  
"w-what is it?!" the apprentice shrieked, slipping on a basil leaf on her way up.  
Feathertail collapsed onto her nest.  
"What did Blackstar say?" Juniperpaw whispered. She didn't know anything about the situation on her mentor's mind, just that something was wrong.  
"You see," Feathertail sighed, "This all started when he first became leader…."

_The trees look beautiful, _Silverpaw thought as she passed under the canopies of orange and yellow and red and brown.  
She had never seen leaf-fall before.  
Her hunting party was scattered about the place to catch more prey. She had caught a pigeon so far, and was holding the prey in her mouth as she neared the river.  
She set the piece of food down and started to fish. She found that if she extended her claws, she could snag it even better. A beautiful fish was in her grasp now. So she flung it up in a watery arch that soared over her head, landing on the ground behind her.  
Something had been trapped underneath the fish, a small water vole, so she dispatched this as well.  
"Two in one!" she exclaimed.  
But how to carry it back? Thinking cleverly, she took one of the old ivy tendrils from the tree, wrapped it around the catches, and dragged it back to camp.

"Look what the apprentice dragged in!" Pineneedle exclaimed at the sight of it.  
The fish was big enough for three cats at the most, maybe even four! And a vole and pigeon on top of that!  
"Lucky," Sparkpaw muttered. He had only managed a single mouse.  
Blackstar, Nightpaw and Slanttail followed him with their own prey.  
Suddenly, something was heard in the bushes near the camp.  
The camp's attention snapped over to the spot, where a small kit stepped out.  
It was fawn brown, with white underfur and white speckles. The poor thing was incredibly skinny, and only about three moons old. It was shivering with sickness and collapsed on the spot.  
"Oh my Starclan-"Feathertail said, gathering her herbs together.  
The entire clan was around the kit, Blackstar stepping in front of the others.  
"Who is this?" he asked calmly.  
The kit looked up with soft hazel eyes and in a voice just barely audible answered: "Eagle. My name is Eagle."

**Bronzekit: did you just curse?  
Me: that was Feathertail.  
Bronzekit: it still counts-  
Me: whatever, Bronzekit. Hey, he have a new addition to Starclan!  
Goldpaw: I'm dead?!  
Bronzekit: welcome to the party, bro (fist bumps)  
me: you don't have fists… well, I've gotten into the habit of writing a chapter daily! Good for me!  
Ringstar: 164 viewers and counting, author. 165….166….  
Me: also, the arrival of Eagle to the clan. I bet you can't guess what her warrior name is!  
Bronzekit: eaglefur?  
Goldpaw: eaglespot?  
Ringstar: eaglefeather?  
Me: no. keep trying.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Eagle was taken into the nursery and treated.  
"I'm going to need some catmint!" Feathertail called.  
Juniperpaw was giving the herbs to her to help treat the sick kit, and trying to get the scrawny thing to eat. The vole that her sister had caught earlier proved to be small enough, so she was using it as food.  
"She smells weird," Nightpaw sniffed. Juniperpaw had been warned by Feathertail about the two brothers, so she tried to sound as least scared as possible:  
"Feathertail said that this is what a kittypet smells like. I don't really like it either."  
Now that the kit was taken care of, Feathertail straightened.  
"She has a mild case of greencough," she said, "but it should pass with that catmint. I don't know how she got all the way to the camp without tiring." Juniperpaw left the nursery and went to the fresh-kill pile to get something to eat. It was sunset now, and the light was starting to dim. She took the fish that Silverpaw had caught, a large silvery one.  
Feathertail was back at the den, reorganizing her herbs as she came back.  
"I gaught sum fod!" Juniperpaw said through the fish in her mouth.  
Feathertail gasped.  
Juniperpaw dropped the fish. "What? What is it this time?" she asked.  
The medicine cat walked over to the fish. "Look at this mark," she pointed to the spot where Silverpaw had bitten it.  
"Oh my," Juniperpaw admitted.

It was time for Sparkpaw and Nightpaw's assessment.  
The two apprentices were exited, but Nightpaw was a bit nervous.  
"You'll do fine," Bluepaw comforted, "just remember what Slanttail told you, and you'll do fine!"  
the black apprentice smiled weakly.  
"Let's go," Blackstar commanded, and Sparkpaw, Nightpaw, and Slanttail set off for the assessment. Silverpaw watched them go.  
"Soon," Bluepaw said, "that'll be us! Do you think you could do that fish-on-the-vole thing like earlier?" "Starclan knows," Silverpaw chuckled. Eagle had tottered over to the apprentice den.  
"What did you do?" the little cat asked, falling underneath the silver-blue apprentice's feet.  
"I was catching a fish like this, see," she started, imitating the fishing position. As she went on with her tale, Bluepaw started grooming a leg.  
_I hope that those two do well, _she thought, _and that we __will __be next. I wonder what my name will be. Blueclaw? Bluefur?_

Sparkpaw did the hunter's crouch with peak precision as he stalked the rabbit. The fluffy thing was grazing like the mouse brain prey was. Well, that was where the expression came from. He pounced, killing the rabbit with a blow to the head.  
"Well done," Blackstar praised. Now it was Nightpaw's turn. He slunk in the dark toward the twin oak, a huge tree made of two trunks. It was deep in Stormclan territory and a hotspot for squirrels. He noticed a black one; that was unusual. He stalked the black mound as it fished around for a deep-lodged chestnut. Nightpaw glided through the night in a graceful leap and hit the squirrel spot-on, doing the killing bite to finish it off.  
"A black squirrel?" Slanttail asked as his apprentice brought back his prize. Sparkpaw envied him. No one had ever found a black squirrel before. Suddenly, the rabbit didn't seem like such a great catch.  
"I think that passes hunting," Nightstar listed, "now let's check the border."  
The apprentices buried their catch under an elm and set off for the Twolegplace border.  
"What do you smell?" Slanttail asked Sparkpaw.  
He sniffed the air carefully. "Twolegs," he said, "a hint of cat, an old piece of fresh-kill."  
"Good," Blackstar nodded. They ventured further to the Moonclan border.  
"And you?" Blackstar asked his other son.  
Nightpaw stiffened as he took in the surrounding air. "Some crowfood," he snorted at the awful scent, "Moonclan has done a patrol here a bit ago-I can still smell the new markers. And-oh, some of those pines further away."  
Slanttail nodded approvingly.  
The four entered the camp. Blackstar leaped onto the leader's den and called, "let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the leader's den for a clan meeting!"

The rest of the night was very calm. The new warrior Nightfur stood guard at the entrance with his brother, Sparkflame. They said nothing, as the vigil says.  
"And now it's just you and me," Bluepaw said to her sister in the apprentice den.  
"She-cat party!" Silverpaw announced, splitting the mouse they snagged off the fresh-kill pile. The two hadn't eaten all night, so this was their 'midnight feast'.  
"When I become a warrior," Silverpaw said over a mouthful of mouse, "I want to be known as Silverclaw!"  
"I don't know," Bluepaw mumbled, "your claws aren't very silver."  
Silverpaw examined her claws and nodded. "You're right. But what about you?"  
"Easy," she said, "Bluefur."

_Oh wow, _Silverpaw thought, _I never knew there were so many cats in the clans!  
_It was her first gathering, amazingly, even after five moons on apprenticeship. Nightfur and Sparkflame had gone once when they were apprentices.  
"It looks like a forest of tabbies, calicos and tortoiseshells," Nightpaw had described.  
The gathering was held by a twoleg barn, with a red roof and huge, hooved animals somewhat like cows in wooden cages.  
"Horses," Sparkflame noted.  
The leaders stood at the very tip of the barn, where the wind rushed through their whiskers and threatened to throw them off. They stayed there nonetheless. The deputies stood at the foot of the barn, conversing amongst themselves. Medicine cats would balance calmly on the fence surrounding the barn, elders under their tails. Any other warrior or apprentice would group up around the place, conversing.  
Silverpaw walked up to a group of apprentices from Moonclan.  
"You're new," one noted. It was Hawkpaw.  
"First time here," Silverpaw specified.  
"Huh," another apprentice huffed. He had a cherry red pelt and looked as old as Hawkpaw. "I suppose you wouldn't know the leaders, then?"  
"Not a clue," Bluepaw answered. The apprentice looked up at the leaders.  
"The one in front there is Mintstar. He's a bit of a territory hog, if you catch my drift. That second one's your leader-Blackstar, was it?-the one struggling to stay on with his tiny feet is Doublestar, the newest, and the one you can't see from here is Redstar, our leader."  
"Why Doublestar?" Silverpaw questioned.  
"His warrior name was Doublepelt, from the way he has that covering on his fur, see?"  
"Oh!" Bluepaw said. Doublestar had an overcoat dark enough to look like another pelt!  
Mintstar yowled to start the gathering.  
"I will speak first," he said, sitting at the tip of the red wood roof. "Fieldclan has a new warrior tonight, Grassong." A pale green tortoiseshell blushed a bit at the attention. "We have had a few Moonclan intruders at the edge of our territory, whom we chased out mercilessly."  
Silverpaw winced. Everyone knew that Fieldclan cats were the fastest of the forest.  
Mintstar stepped back so Doublestar could speak.  
"Twolegclan has done well," he announced, "we have four new kits in the nursery, Luckkit, Scalekit, Petalkit, and Darkkit, whom I'm sorry to say is blind."  
"Poor thing," Bluepaw whispered. Hawkpaw nodded.  
Doublestar half fell, half slid over so Blackstar could speak.  
"We have two new warriors," he boasted, "Sparkflame and Nightfur." The two brothers stood proud in the crowd. "We have lost an apprentice, however, Goldpaw. But prey is plentiful before leaf-bare, and I expect us to last through it." He stepped back, so it was finally Redstar's turn. He had an almost identical pelt to Hawkpaw's friend.  
"Moonclan has lost no warriors to the fight at the stone fields, thankfully, and we also have a new warrior; Muddypelt."  
"If no one else needs to speak, I shall bring this gathering to a close," Mintstar announced.  
After a moment of silence, he slid down the side of the barn and led his clan to the Fieldclan camp.  
"See you," Hawkpaw said as she followed Redstar. Silverpaw nodded and set off for a Stormclan.

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy!" Bluepaw jittered, "this is it, Silverpaw! Our test! Oh-"  
"I know! I know!" the silver-blue apprentice said.  
"Are you two coming or what?" Nightstar asked. Pineneedle and Orchidear were already half out the camp. After taking a deep breath, Silverpaw followed.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Your first test," Blackstar said, "is to catch at least two pieces of prey before sundown."  
The two apprentices nodded.  
"We'll be watching you," Pineneedle warned, slinking off into the undergrowth.  
"I'm going this way," Bluepaw huffed, heading toward the Rockplace.  
"That leaves me with this one," Silverpaw said, going off the other way. She scanned the area for life. There was a mouse scurrying by the brush. Silverpaw followed, stepping lightly on the leaves just behind it.  
The mouse was upwind of her, so it couldn't smell her. Silverpaw could. It smelled of leaf-fall and fresh meat, her favorite smell.  
The mouse was nearing its burrow. If it made it, then Silverpaw couldn't follow it. So she pounced, her paws quickly covering the mouse and dispatching it without another sound.  
Something else squeaked in the burrow.  
She looked into it-  
and found another, terrified mouse. This one was a bit skinny, but better than nothing. Silverpaw scooped it out and held it in her jaw, still alive.  
"Yo'll moike gud pey FO Egl," she mumbled. She tucked the other under her chin and headed back to Blackstar. He was surprised at the sight of a live mouse.  
"And why not kill it?" he pressed.  
"I taught it wuld be gud FO Egl to pactice," Silverpaw mouthed.  
Bluepaw had a squirrel and another mouse. she rolled her eyes at the thought of bringing live prey back to camp.  
Blackstar shook his head, "she can practice when she is older. Kill it now."  
Silverpaw sighed, and crunched the tiny head in her jaws. The body fell to the ground, lifeless, next to its deceased friend.  
"Now that that had been taken care of," Blackstar said, "we can do border patrol."  
The two she-cats buried their prey under a tree, joined up with Lightningtail and Pineneedle, and set off. A twig snap and some cursing stopped them.  
"Who is that?" Blackstar whispered.  
Bluepaw sniffed. "Fieldclan," she breathed.  
Silverpaw stiffened and turned toward the noise. On the twoleg path were three toms. The lead one, a gray tabby, was talking to his partners, a tortoiseshell and a crème.  
"these mouse-brains have no cats around at all!" the tabby bragged, "We can take over easily!"  
Pineneedle was muttering under her breath. Silverpaw didn't want to know what she was saying.  
"We're one-on-one," Lightningtail whispered, "and we have two apprentices. We can take them."  
"Not yet," Blackstar said, "do any of you smell any more cats?"  
Bluepaw scanned the brush. "I don't sense any other cats," she proclaimed in a hushed voice.  
Blackstar nodded and crouched.  
"Stormclan, attack!" he yelled, pouncing on the tabby. The usually calm forest was soon loud with the sounds of yowling and hisses. Silverpaw helped her mentor with the tortoishell. While the two reared up and fought paw-to-paw, Silverpaw shot underneath the enemy warrior and used Sparkflame's tactic: clawing like crazy. She drove through the thick gray fluff until the metallic taste of blood was all over her muzzle.  
The cat yowled in pain and targeted her.  
"You think an apprentice can take down the mighty Hazepelt?!" he yowled. Hazepelt. The deputy of Fieldclan! With newfound fear in the tom, Silverpaw went defensive while Pineneedle was recovering.  
_What are you doing?! _Her conscious yelled. It was right. Stormclan belonged in the forest!  
She slitched (a slash-punch kind of move specific to Stormclan) his muzzle, causing blood to spill. Pineneedle was back up, helping her.  
Before you could say 'Slitch', the enemies were high-tailing out of the forest, across the bridge.  
"Come on back-I dare you!" Bluepaw spat.  
Blackstar was panting, "Well done. We will need to do a ceremony tonight!"

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the leader's den for a clan meeting!" Blackstar yowled.  
Juniperpaw shot out of the den and positioned herself right in front of the crowd. Feathertail followed, more slowly. Mistheart stood with her head held high and tail curled around her feet. Frozentail was standing next to her. Sparkflame and Nightfur were sitting at the edge of the pool, eyes focused and ears listening. Orchidear came to stand by Pineneedle and Lightningtail, the proud mentors. Slashclaw was near the front as well. Finally, Cleareye emerged from the elder's den.  
Cleareye was a fairly young elder, and the battle at the stone fields left her blind. She had a pale white coat with faint gray spots, like a Starclan cat. Her white eyes were once a sharp green, which felt like she could see right through you.  
Silverpaw and Bluepaw were in front of the leader's den, pelts gleaming and tainted with a few cuts. "Pineneedle, Lightningtail," Blackstar asked, "do you believe that your apprentices are ready to become warriors?"  
the two nodded.  
"Then by the power of Starclan, I present your warrior names; Bluepaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Blueripple, and Starclan accepts you as a full warrior of Stormclan."  
He rested his chin on her shoulder, and she licked him respectfully.  
"And Silverpaw," he said. Silverpaw straightened. This was it. The moment she'd been waiting for. "From this moment on you shall be known as Silverstrike, and Starclan accepts you as a full warrior of Stormclan."  
He did the same with her.  
"Silverstrike! Blueripple!" the clan cheered.  
Blueripple basked in the praise. Silverstrike chuckled at her sister. She was glad that they were warriors now, even if that meant doing a few apprentice duties. They were the youngest warriors, after all, and Eagle wouldn't be apprenticed for a few moons.  
Said cat jumped out of the crowd.  
"I can't believe you're both warriors now!" she scrabbled.  
Silverstrike smiled, unable to speak for her warrior ceremony. The two sisters stood guard at the camp while the others went to sleep.

"You really think it's her?" Juniperpaw asked.  
She was still just an apprentice, but it didn't matter to her. medicine cats were supposed to be like that.  
"It must be," Feathertail said, "now come; it's time to meet the others at the Moonpool."

**Me: OH YEA! GET THE CHAMPAIGN!  
Bronzekit: (pops open a bottle)  
Me: I may not be adding as often, but I still do!  
Goldpaw: hey, about my mentor going out with the two-  
Me: yea, sorry about that. You'll notice that in the last part of chapter 5 it says 'Orchidear' instead of 'Lightningtail'. Heh…  
Goldpaw: now what?  
Me: we drink Champaign until the next chapter (clinks glass)**


End file.
